Switzerland Deploys 80 Rescue Personnel to Earthquake-Stricken Venezuela

The Swiss government is deploying a rescue team and over a dozen tonnes of equipment to Venezuela after twin earthquakes devastated the country, killing at least 164 people. The Swiss foreign ministry announced the mobilisation of its ‘Swiss Rescue Chain’, comprising 80 personnel, eight rescue dogs, and 18 tonnes of equipment. The announcement came after the strongest earthquake to strike Venezuela since 1900 forced rescue workers and residents to clamber over the ruins of collapsed apartment blocks in the dark, searching for survivors and evacuating people from the debris. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes struck west of the capital on Wednesday evening. ‘The mission of the Swiss Rescue Chain is to locate, extract, and rescue victims buried under rubble,’ the foreign ministry said in a statement. Authorities in Bern initially estimated that deploying the team and their equipment would take considerable time because Venezuelan airspace is closed to most European airlines. However, after intensive efforts to arrange a flight, the Swiss government stated that the aid shipment would proceed on Thursday evening local time.